Food and Life…Meanderings of a Woman of a Certain Age

Tag Archives: Food shopping

Hurricane Irene made a mess of the last week of summer vacation up and down the East Coast. Here in NJ, as in other areas, millions were affected with flooding, loss of power, downed trees and wires, and just a general mess! We went without power for five days, and tried valiantly to preserve as much of the food in our refrigerator and freezer in coolers, replacing the ice twice a day. But in the end, most of it had to be tossed out. Note to self: Buy a generator!

A few foods that had mostly defrosted, but not quite, I cooked. A corn chowder in my crock pot used many of the vegetables. A turkey breast was allowed to fully defrost, and roasted along with the last of the carrots and potatoes. Defrosted chicken parts became a chicken soup, using up the leeks, parsley, dill, kale, parsnips and a sweet potato.

After scrubbing the appliances (that put the labor in Labor Day!) inside and out, it was time to restock. This necessitated trips to Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s to replace all the dairy products, produce, fish and meat.

The refrigerator was restocked with:

Unsalted butter

2% milk

Sour cream

Greek yogurt

Feta cheese

Shredded mozzarella, swiss and cheddar cheeses

Laughing Cow cheese

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

American cheese

Gruyere

Heavy cream

Ricotta cheese

Fresh pasta

Ground beef

Scallops (tomorrow’s dinner)

Local organic eggs

The Produce:

Baby Carrots

Lettuce

Flat parsley

Fresh Basil

Dill

Fresh Ginger

Summer Squash

Asparagus

Celery

Leeks

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Baby Bella mushrooms

Bananas

Pears

Cherries

Seedless watermelon

Tomatoes

For the freezer:

Trader Joe’s Mushroom Risotto

Trader Joe’s Gnocchi with gorgonzola

Trader Joe’s Lime chicken patties

Rib steak

Boneless chicken breasts

Cut up chicken

Large Shrimp

Mahi Mahi

While I was at it, I decided I might as well reorganize my pantry, and it’s now all neatly categorized by meal and course.